Questions & Answers

Note: This question is for the older version of this part, but we thought you might still find it helpful

Once again the rubber seal attatched to the spray arm is bad. It has turned the consistency of silly putty and is as sticky as a piece of super bubble chewing gum. This obviously is a very common issue and you can now consider yourself "aware" of it as it seems to be the only thing that anyone needs.

ANSWER Hello Robert,
Let's discuss the operation of a dishwasher for a minute. The actual cleaning of the dishes is not accomplished by the suds from the detergent. The suds are fillers that saves the detergent manufacturers money. The cheaper the detergent, the more filler you get and less of the chemical composite that actually causes the chemical reaction that removes the food particles and forces them to mix with the water instead of "skinning" on the surface of the water. So my first point, use a high quality detergent to prevent the use of too much detergent.
The actual cleaning of the dishes is accomplished by the water reaching 140°F causing a chemical reaction which attacks the food particles. You have to think of the chemical reaction as being lazy. The easiest thing for it to attack is food particles. If the dishes have been rinsed, or the operator over soaps, or worse yet the dishes have been rinsed and the unit is over soaped, there is all this chemical reaction taking place with no food particles to occupy it. Therefore, this excess chemical reaction attacks the next easiest thing to attack. These are the rubber seals in the dishwasher, cheaper glassware, patterns on plates,and the silverware. I have seen units that were run with no food particles and over soaped conditions, needing all of the rubber seals replaced before the unit was even out of the first year’s warranty. I have seen patterns eaten off of the dishes in this amount of time. I have seen the silverware turn gray and glasses look like an engraving pencil was used on them.
In short, if the chemical reaction has food particles present to occupy it, and there is not too much soap used, and it is of a high quality, the damage to the unit and the items in the unit is so minimal that no one even notices.
The manufacturers all recommend scrapping the excess food off and placing them in the unit with food "particles" on them. I have been advised by all of the manufacturers "do not rinse the dishes". They also advised me on multiple occasions that the unit requires at least three meals worth of dishes scraped, not rinsed, to have enough food particles present to prevent damage to the unit or the dishes in the unit.
So, to wrap this up, the manufacturers advise that damage of this sort is caused by customer abuse.That's what they call over soaping and rinsing before the wash. I certainly hope this was educational for you as that is how it is intended.